Charita Goshay: Precious city cash keeps Browns happy

Last month, the Cleveland Browns asked their host city to pony up $30 million during the next 15 years to help pay for $120 million in upgrades at the Factory of Sadness — er, FirstEnergy Stadium.

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By Charita GoshayCantonRep.com staff writer

The Repository

By Charita GoshayCantonRep.com staff writer

Posted Dec. 1, 2013 at 12:01 AM

By Charita GoshayCantonRep.com staff writer

Posted Dec. 1, 2013 at 12:01 AM

Here's the reason you and I are not obscenely rich: We lack the audacity, the awesome nerve and the unmitigated gall to ask the public to pay millions in support of our hobby.

Last month, the Cleveland Browns asked their host city to pony up $30 million during the next 15 years to help pay for $120 million in upgrades at the Factory of Sadness — er, FirstEnergy Stadium.

Browns executives said the improvements are a necessity to enhance the fan experience. Plans include more seating, faster escalators and much larger scoreboards.

We can read the present scoreboards just fine, unfortunately. From what we saw last Sunday, people aren't even waiting to use the escalators. It seemed as if many brought their own ropes and rappelled down the side of the building. Or jumped.

Fancy stadiums are a point of pride for team owners. Fans could not care less if the venue lacks the latest in dancing waterfalls and concierge service if the team stinks.

ART'S GHOST

Despite a few objections, Cleveland City Council agreed last week to give billionaire team owner Jimmy Haslam what he wanted. No doubt the ghost of Art Modell and the nightmarish memory of watching the Browns move to Baltimore hovered over the proceedings.

But not everyone is so readily willing to be held hostage by sports teams. Last month, Atlanta said goodbye to the Braves, who wanted the city to match a $450 million offer from a nearby community to help finance a new baseball stadium.

Washington, D.C., Mayor Vincent Gray just said no to a proposal for a publicly financed $300 million retractable dome for the Nationals' baseball stadium.

The sad irony is the majority of the people who will be paying for the upgrades at FirstEnergy Stadium don't attend Browns games. They can't afford it.

Downtown Cleveland is well on its way to becoming a jewel; however, economic recovery remains out of reach for many residents in a city where the median income is $25,977 a year — less than a quarter of what it costs to lease an NFL luxury box for a season.

A BARGAIN?

An analysis by Team Market Report finds that the average Browns ticket costs $52. When you compare that to the Dallas Cowboys' price of $110, it's practically free with a fill-up.

Unless you can't spare $52.

According to the U.S Census, 34 percent of Clevelanders live in poverty. Cleveland ranks third among the poorest large U.S. cities.

To its credit, the city operates within a balanced budget, but if you've ever driven so much as a block down a typical Cleveland street, you know that the town needs blacktop much more than club seating. Thirty million dollars could demolish a lot of abandoned houses or hire a lot of police, EMTs and road crews.

Page 2 of 2 - Is it a coincidence that the Browns played better in dumpy Cleveland Municipal Stadium, a cave with painted grass and too few bathroom stalls? Fans packed the place because, while it's nice to have a sushi bar and toilets that flush, it's all meaningless if your team doesn't win.

But let's stop being romantic. NFL football stopped being about the cheap seats a long time ago.